Basketball Recap: Cardinal Newman Skates Past Monsignor Pace with Ease

You can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Cardinal Newman's strategy against Monsignor Pace on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Cardinal Newman Crusaders blew the Monsignor Pace Spartans out of the water with a 72-41 final score. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Crusaders had established a 27 point advantage.

Cardinal Newman found their leader in sophomore Kingston Smith, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine boards. Those ten points set a new season-high mark for Smith. Almahdi Dial was another key player, putting up eight points.

Cardinal Newman was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Monsignor Pace only posted seven assists.

Despite the defeat, Monsignor Pace had strong showings from Jamaal Gibson, Jr, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten boards, and Angelo Soto-Lugo, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 12 points. Gibson, Jr has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last five times he's played. Another player making a difference was Kris Delva, who posted seven points.

Cardinal Newman's victory bumped their record up to 4-6. As for Monsignor Pace, they dropped their record down to 1-10 with the loss, which was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season.

Cardinal Newman will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Oxbridge Academy at 6:30 p.m. on January 7, 2025. One thing working in Cardinal Newman's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last six contests. Monsignor Pace and Coral Springs Charter will round out the year against one another at at 9:30 a.m. on Friday.